Liberia

An adobe church counted the oldest in Guanacaste, cracked by earthquakes several times and repaired. It now holds religious art. Opening hours inside are irregular, so many people see only the white walls and bell tower and move on.

Liberia's oldest street, lined eave to eave with whitewashed adobe houses. Corner houses carry a sun door that opens two ways, letting in the morning sun and then the afternoon sun. There is little shade at midday, so come early or late.

The former army command post, built like a battlemented wall, has been turned into a cultural space housing the Guanacaste museum. Exhibits cover cowboys and cattle ranching history. The central park is only a short stroll away.

Every 25 July marks Guanacaste leaving Nicaragua to join Costa Rica in 1824. In Liberia lines of mounted cowboys, ox carts and marimba bands go through the streets. The festival bullfights do not kill the bull; riders climb on and try to hang on.

A wide fall drops like a curtain into a pool edged with a sandy beach. You can slip into the rock gap behind it and see the water from inside. From Liberia it is about 30 minutes south on the highway, then off onto a dirt track.

A forest trail in the Santa Maria sector of Rincon de la Vieja ends at a pool that minerals stain a deep sky blue. The walk there and back takes half a day. Park entry stops early in the afternoon, so leave in the morning.

The ranch house where the 1856 battle against the mercenary army of the American William Walker was fought. Arsonists burned it in 2001, and it was rebuilt as before. The park protects dry forest and is inscribed by UNESCO as World Heritage.

A rock standing off Playa Naranjo in Santa Rosa park, with a break in front of it famous among surfers. The road to the beach is rough and closed in the wet season, so most go by boat from Playas del Coco. The beach has no shops and no water.

Boats run the lower Tempisque marshes for crocodiles and waterbirds. Dry months shrink the water and birds crowd the pools left, the big jabiru stork among them. Riverbanks offer no shade, so a hat is needed.

A fishing village roughly 40 minutes' drive from Liberia, grown into a grey-sand beach town. Dive boats head out to the Catalina Islands looking for big rays. At dusk the fishing boats come in at the pier.

A volcano in Bagaces southeast of Liberia, its slopes scattered with mud pools and steaming vents. That heat drives the country's geothermal power plants. Nearby Fortuna de Bagaces village gathers spots offering mud baths and thermal pools.

Rocky islets scattered off Playa Flamingo, served by dive boats from Coco and Flamingo. In season giant mantas pass, and rays and sharks are frequent. The water can run cold, so renting a thicker wetsuit pays off.

A calm bay just north of Playas del Coco, with a long stretch of grey sand. Low waves suit children, and it is among the beaches closest by car to Liberia airport. The bay opens toward the sunset, so the sand fills up in the evening.